England's further education colleges have called on the government to spare adult education from cuts in Wednesday's (March 24th) Budget.
According to figures from the Association of Colleges (AoC), these institutions are expecting funding for adult courses to decline by £191 million in 2010-11, which would equate to an average budget reduction of 16 per cent per college.
Of the 147 education providers questioned, 63 forecast budget cuts of over 20 per cent. Among the areas expected to be affected were basic literacy and numeracy, A-levels and GCSEs for adults, bricklaying, joinery and electrical installation, catering and care, paralegal administration and the certificate in British Sign Language.
AoC assistant chief executive Julian Gravatt said that while the Treasury is under pressure to curb public spending, cutting back on courses that will be vital to the UK's recovery is a "false economy".
Martin Doel, the organisation's chief executive, added: "Unlike the current debate about university funding cuts which will take place in the future, these changes are real and happening now. They will affect students trying to enrol this September."
The government claims it will increase spending on further education by £3.5 billion in 2010-11. According to the AoC, further education colleges are Britain's biggest providers of vocational training.
Chris Green PA's further education expert says, "The AoC report is one of several in recent weeks that makes it clear there is a real risk that funding for further education (FE) is about to be dramatically reduced, just as the sector is demonstrating that it is better equipped than ever to support responses to the downturn.
Our recent work to develop ground breaking insights on what these challenges mean for Higher Education – ‘Escaping the Red Queen effect’ – gives us real confidence that there are ways and means for FE to reorganise itself to be truly more market facing and deliver the skills employers need. Our experience in Northern Ireland proves just that: FE can be a truly effective driver for economic growth, forming the bridge between government policy and local industry.The challenge is whether the FE sector will be given the time and opportunity to prove that and add the value to UK plc that we believe it can."
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